Moistureproof container construction

ABSTRACT

A moistureproof container construction formed of a container body comprising a flexible jacket of moistureproof substantially non-stretchable material having adhered over its inside face including its bottom, a compressible water impermeable plastic foam lining. A closure plug of rigid relatively non-compressible material insertable into the mouth of the jacket, is shaped to compress the foam lining and provide a tight elongated sealing band adjacent the container mouth. Flexibility of the container body, enables it to collapse under water pressure to thus compensate for increased pressure and thus prevent leakage of water into the container.

llite States Gaiser et a1.

1 atent 1191 [451 Mar. 25, 1975 MOISTUREPROOF CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION [76] Inventors: Conrad J. Gaiser, PO. Box 534,

Zephyr Cove, Nev. 89448; Lynn E. Sarraille, 45069 Palm St., lndio, Calif. 92201 [22] Filed: Sept. 24, 1973 211 Appl. No.: 400,211

[52] US. Cl. 150/8, 150/1 [51] Int. Cl. B65d 33/16 [58] Field of Search..-..... 150/3, 8, 52 R, 52 J, 52 F; 220/42 B, 43 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,573,590 2/1926 Wallace 150/8 2,607,383 8/1952 Christophersen 150/8 3,148,798 9/1964 Brown 220/42 B 3,635,369 1/1972 Lasswell 220/42 B Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Stanley Bialos [57] ABSTRACT A moistureproof container construction formed of a container body comprising a flexible jacket of moistureproof substantially non-stretchable material having adhered over its inside face including its bottom, a

. compressible water impermeable plastic foam lining.

A closure plug of rigid relatively non-compressible material insertable into the mouth of the jacket, is

shaped to compress the foam lining and provide a tight elongated sealing band adjacent the container mouth. Flexibility of the container body, enables it to collapse under water pressure to thus compensate for increased pressure and thus prevent leakage of water into the container.

12 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures x i-Tm MOISTUREPROOF CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION This invention relates to a moistureproof container construction, particularly adapted to protect articles such as cameras and other scientific instruments against damage should the container accidentally fall or become submerged in water. However, it may be used to protect other articles such as cigarette packages, and other personal items.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS Summarizing the invention the container comprises a jacket of any suitable lightweight, flexible moistureproof material which is non-stretchable so that it may be tightly sealed by a plug type closure. The jacket is lined along its entire inside face and over the bottom thereof with a compressible water impermeable plastic foam which is advantageously bonded to the jacket by any suitable adhesive. A closed-cell foam (in contradistinction to an open-cell foam wherein the cellsare in intercommunication) is advantageously used because such closed-cell foam is inherently moistureproof as liquid ccannot penetrate the same.

The foam liner provides stability to the container body so that it can assume a tubular, desirably cylindrical form, and at the same time be collapsible. Also it serves as a cushioning means to protect contents against damage should the container be dropped.

Such foam liner extends to a position adjacent the edge of the container body mouth which is reinforced by a band of flexible non-stretchable material secured to the jacket on the outside adjacent the mouth. This band is desirably a fabric slide fastener band which is cooperable with a similar slide fastener band on a plug type closure for closing and sealing the container body.

The plug type closure is of rigid relatively noncompressible material such as plastic but it may be of any other suitable type of material, such as metal. The bottom edge of the closure plug is shaped to facilitate insertion thereof into the mouth of the container, by being beveled, and has an outside wall which tapers upwardly and outwardly from the bottom edge. Its dimension is such as to fit tightly when inserted into the mouth of the container.

When so inserted the portion of the foam liner adjacent the mouth becomes compressed between the jacket and the plug thus forming a tight elongated tapered sealing band adjacent the mouth. As previously indicated a slide fastener band is secured to the plug and is cooper-able with the slide fastener on the jacket to provide an openable and reclosable closure. Desirably, these slide fastener bands have a conventional hinge connection along a limited area, thus permancntly joining the plug and the container body.

Desirably. the closure plug is bowl shaped having an open top to thus provide a receptacle for the container body comprising the jacket and its plastic foam lining, which can be crumpled and inserted underneath a bandle extending across the open mouth of the plug. Advantageously. the plug is oftransparent plastic material so that contents in the container may be viewed therethrough.

Because of the collapsible nature and flexibility of the receptacle jacket and its lining, when an article such as a camera is contained therein with the container body sealed by the plug, and the container accidentally dropped in water, water pressure acting on the outside will collapse the container body, thus increasing air pressure thereinto equal that of the increased pressure under water, to thus eliminate any force which would drive water into the container, and cause leakage which might otherwise possibly occur below the sealed unplugged area. With a rigid type container body the air pressure will remain the same inside the container when submerged, and hence leakage must otherwise occur due to higher water pressure forcing water into the container. A rigid sealed container usually is made from heavy materials which sink to depths wherewater pressures are high and leakage is most likely.

From the preceding, it is seen that the invention has its objects, among others, the provision of an improved container construction capable of preventing leakage under water, which is of simple and economical construction, and which has a closure that can be used as a receptacle for the container body. Other objects will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal, cross sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating the container construction with its closure plug disconnected from but in a position for insertion into the container y;

FIG. 2 is a similar view but illustrating the closure plug inserted fully into the container body in sealing cooperation adjacent the mouth of the container body;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary isometric view of the container construction with the closure plug in fully opened position; a portion of the construction being broken away to shorten the view;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view looking in the direction of arrow 4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary isometric view looking at the bottom of the container body;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the container body and plug in a fully sealed position, with an article, such as a camera, contained therein, and illustrating the collapsible nature of the container under water; and

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the bowl shaped closure plug with the container held therein underneath a handle which extends across the open top of the plug.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The container construction comprises container body C and closure plug P connected to the body by a slide fastener band 2 around the mouth of the container body and slide fastener band 3 about the container plug P; these parts being desirably hingedly connected as shown in FIG. 3. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the container open, and FIG. 2 illustrates closure plug P fully inserted into the container body C.

Container body C comprises a tubularjacket 4 of any suitable lightweight moistureproof substantially nonstretchable material. A suitable and desirable material is conventional waterproof rip stop nylon. Other suitable materials are air impervious rubberized fabrics and saran type films. Adhered to the inside face of jacket 4 and to the bottom thereof is a moisture resistant padding or liner 6, of flexible, compressible cellular foam material, desirably of the closed-cell type which precludes air and water from bleeding through the cells, as well as providing cushioning. The bottom may be reinforced with tape adhesively bonded thereto.

Advantageous lightweight foam material is Ethafoam, a polyethylene foam by Dow Chemical Company; Foamrez, a polyurethane foam by Witco Chemical Company; and Isofoam, a polyurethane foam by Isocyanate Products of Newcastle, Deleware. However, any other suitable foam, desirably of the closed-cell type, can be employed, which is lightweight to provide buoyancy in water. A suitable weight is about 1 to 9 lbs. per cubic foot. The foam lining in sheet form is adhered to the inside face of the jacket, desirably by any suitable adhesive such as a vinyl type or epoxy type adhesive. Liner 6 may be of any suitable thickness, the thicker the more buoyant the container becomes. A suitable thickness which provides for good compression is at least about /8 inch so as to insure sufficient compression to form a tight seal. A suitable range of thickness is about /8 to 4 inch.

For tightly securing together jacket 4, band 2 and foam liner 6 adjacent the mouth of the container body C, the upper portion of the jacket is formed with a hem 7 provided with an inturned flange 8; these parts being tightly secured together by means such as stitching 9. In this connection, slide fastener band 2 is of the usual non-stretchable slide fastener fabric material so as to maintain the mouth of the container body C of substantially fixed diameter for tightly receiving closure plug P in a manner shown in FIG. 2.

Lower edge 11 of plug P is shaped to facilitate insertion thereof into the mouth of container body C, and is desirably beveled for this purpose. The outside wall of the plug is formed to taper upwardly and outwardly from beveled edge 11 so that as the plug is inserted into the container body it will result in compressing tightly the foam liner between jacket 4 and the outside face of the plug, to form a face to face or linear seal therebetween indicated by the sealed band area S indicated in FIG. 2 which illustrates sealing plug P fully inserted into container body C. In this connection, it should be noted that the plug closure need not be closed by the slide fastener parts because the seal will be maintained by virtue of the compressed tight fit of plug P against foam liner 6 in the area noted; but it is desirable to close the fastener to insure that disconnection of the plug will not occur.

Slide fastener band 3 on the plug may be adhered thereto in any suitable manner such as by the aforementioned type of adhesives or it may be stitched by staples to the plug because the aforementioned sealed area S will preclude water leakage into the body of the container. This is also true for the area at stitching 9.

Plug P is of solid, rigid moisture impermeable material free of sealing material on its outer peripheral surface, and it is desirably made bowl shape as shown at 12 in FIG. 7 to provide a receptacle when the container construction is not used, for receiving the container body C in crumpled condition as shown in FIG. 7. A rod 13 extending across the open top of plug P and secured at opposite ends thereof to the side wall of the plug provides a handle for carrying the unfilled container, and at the same time retains container body C in place in crumpled condition as can be seen from FIG. 7; the rod being secured by cap screws 14.

Desirably plug P is made of light transmitting transparent or translucent plastic which enables one to see the contents in container body C. As previously indicated, plug P has a very tight fit in the mouth of container body C so as to effect tight compression of foam liner 6 in the seal area S; and to facilitate insertion of container body C over closure plug P, the container body may be provided with straps 16 secured thereto which enable pulling the container body onto the closure plug to seal the same.

The buoyancy of the aforedescribed container construction is a function ofthe thickness of the foam liner 6 which may be chosen in accordance with the weight of contents in the container. Thus, the container may be of any suitable size depending upon the type of contents to be carried.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated the container jacket is of rip stop nylon about i l in. in length, and about 6 in. in outside diameter at the container mouth and bottom. Slide fastener bands 2 and 3 are about A: in. wide and the tapered wall of plastic closure plug P has an angle of about 3 with the foam liner being polyurethane closed-cell foam about A in. thick, weighing about 4 lbs. per cubic foot so that when the closure plug is inserted fully into the container body it will become tightly compressed and sealed along the tapered sealed or band area S which is about l /2 in. long. These dimensions are merely illustrative and may vary widely.

Although the container body shown is cylindrical, it need not necessarily be so as only the upper portion at the sealed area S should be cylindrical; the lower part of the container body may be enlarged if so desired.

I claim:

1. A moistureproofcontainer construction capable of preventing leakage under water comprising a collapsible jacket of flexible moistureproof substantially nonstretchable material having a receptacle mouth, a lining of compressible water impermeable plastic foam adhered to the inside face of the jacket and extending adjacent to the edge of the mouth, a band of material se cured to said jacket on the outside thereof adjacent the edge of said mouth, and a plug closure for such jacket of rigid relatively non-compressible material having a bottom edge shaped to facilitate insertion thereof into the mouth and a wall tapering outwardly from said bottom edge to compress the foam between said jacket and said tapered wall to thus form a tight elongated tapered sealing band adjacent said mouth.

2. The container construction of claim 1 wherein said band secured to said jacket is a flexible non-stretchable slide fastener band, and another flexible nonstretchable slide fastener band is secured about the periphery of said plug closure and which is cooperable with said band on the jacket in securing the closure plug and jacket together adjacent said mouth.

3. The container construction of claim 1 wherein the foam is of the closed-cell type adhesively bonded to the inside face of the jacket, the upper portion of the jacket has a hem which forms an inturned flange overlapping the inner surface of the foam, and means is provided tightly securing together the flange, foam, jacket wall and the jacket band.

4. The container construction of claim 3 wherein said securing means is stitching passing through the flange, foam, jacketwall and the jacket band.

5. The container construction ofclaim 3 wherein said closure plug is of transparent plastic material to enable contents in the jacket to be seen when the closure plug is closed, and wherein the closure plug is bowl shaped with an open top to provide a receptacle.

6. The container construction of claim 1 wherein said closure plug is bowl shaped with an open top to provide a receptacle for the jacket.

7. The container construction of claim 6 wherein a rod extends across the closurereceptacle to provide a handle and also retain the jacket in the bowl.

8. The container construction of claim 1 wherein the bottom edge of the plug is beveled.

9. A reusable sealing closure plug for an open mouth flexible container having compressible foam material adjacent the mouth, said plug being bowl shaped with an open top to form a receptacle, and being of rigid material having a beveled bottom edge to facilitate insertion of the plug into the container mouth, the wall of said plug tapering outwardly from said beveled edge to effect compressiotn on the foam material and provide a tight moisture resistant seal adjacent the container mouth, and the peripheral outer surface of said plug being free of sealing material.

10. A reusable sealing closure plug and receptacle for an open mouth flexible container having compressible foam material adjacent the mouth, said plug being bowl shaped with an open top to form a receptacle for bolding the container and being of rigid transparent mate rial to enable contents within the container to be visible when the plug is closed on the container, the plug having a beveled bottom edge to facilitate insertion of the plug into the container mouth with the wall of the plug tapering outwardly from said beveled edge to effect compression on the foam material and provide a tight moisture resistant seal adjacent the container mouth, the outer peripheral surface of said plug being free of sealing material, and a rod extending across the receptacle in the plug and securedat opposite ends to the side wall of the plug to provide a handle and to retain the flexible container in crumpled condition when it is not being used.

11. A moistureproofcontainer capable of preventing leakage under water comprising a collapsible jacket of flexible moistureproof substantially non-stretchable material having a receptacle mouth, a lining of com pressible water impermeable plastic foam adhesively bonded to the inside face of the jacket and extending adjacent to the edge of the mouth, a band of material secured to said jacket on the outside thereof adjacent the edge of said mouth, a hem on the upper portion of the jacket providing a flange overlapping the inner surface of the foam, and stitching through the flange, foam, jacket wall and band tightly securing them together, said jacket being adapted to receive a plug closure for compressing the foam to thus form a tight seal adjacent said mouth.

12. The container of claim 11 wherein the foam is of the closed-cell type. 

1. A moistureproof container construction capable of preventing leakage under water comprising a collapsible jacket of flexible moistureproof substantially non-stretchable material having a receptacle mouth, a lining of compressible water impermeable plastic foam adhered to the inside face of the jacket and extending adjacent to the edge of the mouth, a band of material secured to said jacket on the outside thereof adjacent the edge of said mouth, and a plug closure for such jacket of rigid relatively non-compressible material having a bottom edge shaped to facilitate insertion thereof into the mouth and a wall tapering outwardly from said bottom edge to compress the foam between said jacket and said tapered wall to thus form a tight elongated tapered sealing band adjacent said mouth.
 2. The container construction of claim 1 wherein said band secured to said jacket is a flexible non-stretchable slide fastener band, and another flexible non-stretchable slide fastener band is secured about the periphery of said plug closure and which is cooperable with said band on the jacket in securing the closure plug and jacket together adjacent said mouth.
 3. The container construction of claim 1 wherein the foam is of the closed-cell type adhesively bonded to the inside face of the jacket, the upper portion of the jacket has a hem which forms an inturned flange overlapping the inner surface of the foam, and means is provided tightly securing together the flange, foam, jacket wall and the jacket band.
 4. The container construction of claim 3 wherein said securing means is stitching passing through the flange, foam, jacket wall and the jacket band.
 5. The container construction of claim 3 wherein said closure plug is of transparent plastic material to enable contents in the jacket to be seen when the closure plug is closed, and wherein the closure plug is bowl shaped with an open top to provide a receptacle.
 6. The container construction of claim 1 wherein said closure plug is bowl shaped with an open top to provide a receptacle for the jacket.
 7. The container construction of claim 6 wherein a rod extends across the closure receptacle to provide a handle and also retain the jacket in the bowl.
 8. The container construction of claim 1 wherein the bottom edge of the plug is beveled.
 9. A reusable sealing closure plug for an open mouth flexible container having compressible foam material adjacent the mouth, said plug being bowl shaped with an open top to form a receptacle, and being of rigid material having a beveled bottom edge to facilitate insertion of the plug into the container mouth, the wall of said plug tapering outwardly from said beveled edge to effect compressiotn on the foam material and provide a tight moisture resistant seal adjacent the container mouth, and the peripheral outer surface of said plug being free of sealing maTerial.
 10. A reusable sealing closure plug and receptacle for an open mouth flexible container having compressible foam material adjacent the mouth, said plug being bowl shaped with an open top to form a receptacle for holding the container and being of rigid transparent material to enable contents within the container to be visible when the plug is closed on the container, the plug having a beveled bottom edge to facilitate insertion of the plug into the container mouth with the wall of the plug tapering outwardly from said beveled edge to effect compression on the foam material and provide a tight moisture resistant seal adjacent the container mouth, the outer peripheral surface of said plug being free of sealing material, and a rod extending across the receptacle in the plug and secured at opposite ends to the side wall of the plug to provide a handle and to retain the flexible container in crumpled condition when it is not being used.
 11. A moistureproof container capable of preventing leakage under water comprising a collapsible jacket of flexible moistureproof substantially non-stretchable material having a receptacle mouth, a lining of compressible water impermeable plastic foam adhesively bonded to the inside face of the jacket and extending adjacent to the edge of the mouth, a band of material secured to said jacket on the outside thereof adjacent the edge of said mouth, a hem on the upper portion of the jacket providing a flange overlapping the inner surface of the foam, and stitching through the flange, foam, jacket wall and band tightly securing them together, said jacket being adapted to receive a plug closure for compressing the foam to thus form a tight seal adjacent said mouth.
 12. The container of claim 11 wherein the foam is of the closed-cell type. 